Energy and Environment

Alex is determined to fight the existential threat of climate change. Having grown up in a low-income, heavily polluted neighborhood, he is dedicated to ensuring that every family has access to clean air and clean water. He served for six years as Chair of the California State Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications, where he led the development of California’s ambitious renewable energy and climate policies that now serve as a model for the rest of the country. Alex’s environmental leadership has continued in the U.S. Senate. In addition to cosponsoring the Green New Deal, Alex introduced sweeping legislation to electrify our nation’s school buses and protect over one million acres of public lands in California, increasing access to nature and preserving California’s natural treasures for generations to come.

Alex understands the threat that increasingly frequent and catastrophic natural disasters and extreme weather events pose to California and the Western United States. That’s why he fought to secure millions of dollars in federal funding for flood control infrastructure to protect communities from catastrophic floods and rising sea levels. His bill the POWER ON Act was signed into law by President Biden to prevent utility outages caused by natural disasters like wildfires and other extreme weather events. And while California continues to face the threat of devastating wildfires, Alex led the successful passage of the FIRE Act, to modernize the way FEMA prepares for and responds to wildfires.

Recent News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) to condemn the Trump Administration’s proposed rollbacks of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards,...
California gas prices are up more than $1.50 per gallon since the start of Trump’s war with Iran WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Californians face rising gas prices driven by the Trump Administration’s ongoing war in Iran, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.), along with members of San Diego’s Congressional delegation, pushed the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Jamieson Greer, to address the transboundary sewage crisis at the Tijuana River during...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) to condemn the Trump Administration’s proposed rollbacks of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards,...
California gas prices are up more than $1.50 per gallon since the start of Trump’s war with Iran WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Californians face rising gas prices driven by the Trump Administration’s ongoing war in Iran, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.), along with members of San Diego’s Congressional delegation, pushed the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Jamieson Greer, to address the transboundary sewage crisis at the Tijuana River during...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, questioned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin about President Trump’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget. Padilla slammed Zeldin for EPA...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, questioned Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about President Trump’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget. Padilla highlighted that the Trump Administration’s moves to...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) today introduced legislation to ratify a historic agreement between the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the United States government, the Coachella Valley Water District, and the Desert Water Agency....
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, questioned Energy Secretary Chris Wright about President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2027 proposed budget for the Department of Energy and its drastic...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) led ten Democratic Senators in strongly opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule limiting the application of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, under which states and Tribes would effectively be unable to...
Funding delivers critical support for supply chains, coastal navigation, and community resilience statewide CALIFORNIA — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, announced more than $160 million in...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate Wildfire Caucus, announced the Support Our Firefighters Act to provide federal wildland firefighters with mandatory rest and recuperation time and ensure they...